Tomato feast

When we were thinking about moving to France several years ago we thought we might settle near the coast. Having looked around a bit we decided it was a bit busy and expensive..and too flat for cycling. Then we popped in to see some friends not too far from here in Touraine and stayed for dinner. My lasting memory from the whole holiday was the incredibly sweet flavour of Michelle and Gerard’s tomatoes. And that did it for me. If we could have tomatoes like that, then this was the place I wanted to live…and the rest is history, as they say.

Needless to say, tomato salads have featured highly on our menus of late, and this little lot were destined for the pot to make tomato sauce for those winter pasta dishes.

And where else would you find a fete de la tomate?

The beautiful Chateau de Bourdaisiere near Tours is home to the national tomato collection, some 630 varieties and needless to say, there were all things tomato at this wonderful little festival. In addition to the extensive vegetable gardens (not quite up to Villandry, but pretty good nonetheless), there is a fabulous collection of dahlias and lots and lots of plants, seeds and delicious food to squander your hard-earned Euros upon. It was a beautiful day and well worth our second visit.